TCC marks 68th Commencement Exercises with milestones, including huge numbers of dual enrollment grads

Tidewater Community College’s 68^th Commencement Exercises celebrated several significant milestones on Monday evening at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Among them:

Five students from the inaugural STEM Promise Program cohort graduated; each is planning to transfer. Four of them, Deloren Perry, Devon Singleton, Kasen Martel and Kathryn Synowiec are bound for Old Dominion University. Robert Sutton will transfer to Virginia Tech. All are juniors who earned four semesters of free tuition thanks to the Women’s Center STEM Promise Program launched in 2017.

President Greg DeCinque with the first group from the Priority Technical Training Center to earn career studies certificates in Automotive Chassis Systems.

Thanks to a new partnership with Priority Automotive and the Norfolk Sheriff’s office, TCC graduated its first class of nonviolent offenders from the Norfolk Jail. By learning at the PriorityTechnical Training Center in Chesapeake, 14 inmates were trained as automotive technicians, earning career studies certificate in Automotive Chassis Systems. All of them are eligible for full-time employment following their release.

Expanded partnerships with the Chesapeake and Portsmouth public schools led to TCC graduating its largest class of dual enrollment students. Fifteen earned career studies certificates in mechatronics, meaning they are one year away from completing associate degrees. Thirty-six other students earned career studies certificates in the fields of electrical wiring, welding and pharmacy technology.

Portsmouth Public Schools dual enrollment graduates. — Dual enrollment coordinator Katina Barnes with the Portsmouth cohort of dual enrollment graduates.

In addition, six teenagers from the Portsmouth Campus are Governor’s Medallion recipients as they completed associate degrees while still in high school. This is the largest number of Governor’s Medallion winners ever from TCC. All will enter four-year colleges as juniors.

Student speaker Charleston Yancey will also be a junior at his next stop, Virginia Wesleyan University. Yancey, who earned his Associate of Science in Social Sciences, encouraged the Class of 2019 to persist past the pressure, speaking with a passion that ignited his classmates.

“No matter what you have endured in life, on this day you are defined by three words: ‘You did it!’” he said, the culmination of a spirited speech that left many of his classmates on their feet. ‘When you face new obstacles and new challenges, remember, you did it!

“If you did it once, you can do it again,” he repeated to cheers; nearly 1,000 graduates were in attendance.

Ruth Jones Nichols, chief executive officer of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, followed Yancey and admitted she wept after being asked to be the college’s keynote speaker, calling it a humbling honor.

“You don’t have to be Danny Glover or Glenn Close to connect with each of you in this moment,” she said. “I’ve been where you are today. I’ve experienced the range of emotions that come with taking your next step.”

Grads move their tassels to the right to signify that they are now TCC grads.

Jones Nichols encouraged the graduates to think of their new education as a passport and look for real-world experience to complement their academic achievements. She advised them to be wary of falling into the trap of following someone else’s timetable as a measure for success.

“Don’t allow the movement of others toward a destination to define when, where and how you use your passport in life,” said the admitted late bloomer. “Trust the process and the place where you find yourself in any given time.”

She concluded by alluding to an upcoming partnership between the Foodbank and TCC, which will establish a food pantry to help college students deal with food insecurity.

Jones Nichols added, “Use your education at TCC to continue creating the best possible life for yourself. Never forget that you truly can go anywhere.”

Chesapeake Public Schools dual enrollment graduates. — Chesapeake Public Schools had its largest cohort of dual enrollment graduates.

“Are you ready?” TCC President Greg DeCinque then asked the jubilant graduates, each of whom joined TCC’s alumni network of 100,000 strong after making their celebratory walk across the stage.

Foodbank CEO will be keynote for TCC’s 68th commencement on May 13

Ruth Jones Nichols, chief executive officer of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, will be the keynote speaker for Tidewater Community College’s 68th Commencement Exercises on Monday, May 13, at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.

Commencement, which begins at 6 p.m., will be streamed live at tcc.edu/commencement.

Jones Nichols is a previous recipient of TCC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Community Distinguished Service Award. She became CEO of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore in 2016. Previously, the Hampton Roads native served as executive director of the YWCA South Hampton Roads. She holds a Ph.D. in social work from the Catholic University of America, a master’s in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s in sociology from the College of William & Mary.

Ruth Jones Nichols will be the keynote speaker for TCC’s 68th Commencement Exercises.

More than 1,300 students will graduate, including five from TCC’s inaugural class of STEM Promise Program scholars. Recipients of the Women’s Center STEM Promise Program scholarship pay no tuition or fees to complete their associate degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related disciplines. All will transfer to four-year universities with junior class standing.

Thanks to expanded partnership programs with Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) and Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS), TCC will graduate its largest class ever of dual enrollment students from both cities.

Fifteen of those graduates earned career studies certificates in mechatronics. These students were enrolled in a special career pathway that included taking selected classes in their high schools for the first two years, to work toward a recognized industry credential and in-demand careers in advanced manufacturing.

If they choose to continue their education at TCC, they will be able to achieve associate degrees in mechatronics in just one year.

Fourteen CPS students will graduate with career studies certificates in electrical wiring for technicians; 13 additional will receive career studies certificates in welding; and seven more have earned career studies certificates in pharmacy technician.

Six Portsmouth Campus students will graduate with the Governor’s Medallion, awarded to high school students who complete associate degrees while still in high school. All six will receive associate degrees in social sciences and enter four-year colleges as juniors.

In addition, two students from PPS will graduate with career studies certificates in maritime welding.

The student speaker is Charleston Yancey, who is graduating with his Associate of Science in Social Sciences. The Norfolk native, one of nine students from the college nominated to the Phi Theta Kappa 2019 All-Virginia Academic Team, will transfer to Virginia Wesleyan University this fall to work toward a bachelor’s in psychology.